Instructor

Jeff Lane, JD, MPH, is an Affiliate Associate Professor with the University of Washington Department of Global Health and is a core faculty member with University of Washington’s (UW) International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH). Jeff is the Principal Investigator of the International AIDS Education and Training Center (IAETC) program, which implements HIV programs in Botswana, Caribbean, India, Kenya, Mozambique, and Ukraine. Jeff also is Principal Investigator of the USAID Enhancing Quality of Healthcare Activity in Cambodia being implemented in partnership with FHI360, which seeks to strengthen health care regulation and health worker training in Cambodia. From 2010-2015, Jeff worked on the PEPFAR Policy Monitoring Project that built capacity of PEPFAR partner countries to develop and monitor health law and policy reforms critical to HIV/AIDS program scale-up and sustainability. Jeff recently co-led the South Africa health policy systems strengthening project, which worked with the National Department of Health of South Africa to strengthen its health policy management processes and information systems.

During his career, Jeff has worked to strengthen health policy and regulatory environments in Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, the United States, and Zambia. Jeff’s research interests focus on how policy development and implementation impacts public health around the world and specifically on access to essential medicines and health services. Jeff teaches a graduate level course every spring titled Policy Development and Advocacy for Global Health (GH523). Jeff received his Juris Doctorate and Masters of Public Health from UW.

Description

Government, through public policy, has a profound impact on public health. Governments play various roles in public health systems, including as a health care service provider, regulator of private activity, health care purchaser and payor, adjudicator of disputes, and enforcer of public policies and laws. In this class, we will explore the complex array of factors that affect the development and implementation of public health interventions through the public policy process. You will also be prepared to effectively engage in the policy process, as both an analyst and advocate, to work toward improving health equity around the world.

You will learn about and apply tools and frameworks to analyze public health problems and design policy interventions to address those problems at scale. You will also learn strategies for effective policy advocacy to improve the likelihood that evidence-based policy proposals are adopted and implemented effectively. You will also develop a familiarity with some of the current issues and controversies in global health policy, how non-governmental organizations engage in policy advocacy, the role of courts in reviewing health laws and policy decisions, the potential for international treaties to support and undermine public health, and the impact of intellectual property laws on access to essential medicines.

Download the course syllabus.

You are required to take a Course Policy Quiz to ensure you understand policies and grading for this course.

Course Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Analyze health policy issues using a framework that integrates empirical evidence and values (global, national, and local);
  • Identify and use appropriate tools to advocate for policy changes;
  • Identify key stakeholders (international, national, and local) in policy issues and describe their respective roles in whether and how those issues are resolved;
  • Describe current trends in health system reform globally and the challenges and opportunities those trends present;
  • Describe the major issues concerning health policy faced by developing countries and policy options for addressing those issues; and
  • Make effective oral and written presentations on global health policy issues.

If you have any questions, please look at the course FAQ.

Target Audience

Participants are from multiple countries around the world and include health care workers, early to mid-career clinical and public health managers, and program directors. Participants completing all assignments are awarded a Certificates of Completion from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Format

This is a self-paced, online modular course divided into 10 weeks.

This course will be delivered entirely online through a course management system named (Moodle).

Participants are expected to review the pre-recorded weekly lectures, complete assigned readings and activities, and participate in discussion via the discussion forums. Most participants will also meet with a local study group that is led by a site facilitator. This is meant to increase opportunities for discussion about the relevance of the material to the local setting. Completion of a final course evaluation is strongly encouraged for successful completion of the course.

If you have any questions, please look at the course FAQ. If your question isn't answered there, please email edgh@uw.edu.

Materials

All reading materials for this course are provided, in PDF form, or by linking to online sources.

Grading

To be successful in the course you will need to complete all of the learning activities listed.

Final grades will be calculated as follows:

Activity Percentage
Discussion Forums (every other week, 2 points each, 5 total)
 10%
Quizzes (2.2 points each, 9 total) 20%
Assignment: Situational Analysis and Problem Definition (due week 2, 10 points) 10%
Assignment: Policy Options (due week 4, 10 points) 10%
Assignment: Policy Analysis Criteria (due week 6, 10 points) 10%
Assignment: Multi-Criteria Policy Analysis (due week 8, 10 points) 10%
 Assignment: Policy Brief (due week 10, 30 points) 30%
Total 100%

Submitting Assignments

All assignments for this course will be submitted electronically through Moodle. Assignments must be submitted by the given deadline.

Viewing Grades in Moodle

Points you receive for graded activities will be posted to the Moodle Grade Book.

Quizzes will be graded upon submission. Discussion and assignment grades are posted by the end of the day Monday after an assignment is due. If you submit your assignment late (after the due date), please note that your grade will be updated approximately 10 days after the due date. All due dates and times are in PT.

Assignments

Participants are expected to:

  • Complete introductory activities (review the General Information section, Syllabus, complete Course Policy Quiz)
  • Review the pre-recorded weekly lectures.
  • Complete assigned readings, quizzes, and assignments.
  • Participate in discussions via the course discussion board.
  • Participate in site groups to enhance discussion and learning (if taking the course as part of a site).

Completion of a final course evaluation is also required for successful completion of the course. Participants will receive the Certificate of Completion upon confirmation from the site facilitator that all course requirements have been met.

Discussion Forums

Your participation in the discussion forums is critical for maximizing your learning experiences in this course. Please refer to the information on posting to discussion forums to read about expectations for posting.

Quizzes

Quizzes will open when the module opens. You will have 2 attempts on each quiz. The learning management system will record your highest score.

Certificate of Completion

Active participation is required in order to receive a Certificate of Completion for the course. To receive a Certificate of Completion from the University of Washington, USA, you must pass the course, which means getting a final score of 70% or higher on all graded activities.

If you are a site participant, you must earn a qualifying score and attend 3 of the site meetings your site will hold. Attendance at more, if offered, is encouraged but not required to meet the site participation requirement. After the course, site participant certificates will be sent to site coordinators for distribution.

Late Work Policy

Assignments will be due at the end of each module. If you are unable to submit your assignment by the due date, you may still submit it up to one week late without penalty. After the one-week grace period, the assignment will close and it can no longer be accepted for grading.

Commitment to Academic Integrity

Commit to Integrity

As a participant in this course you are expected to maintain high degrees of professionalism, commitment to active learning and participation in this class and also integrity in your behavior in and out of the classroom.

Definitions

"Plagiarism is defined as the use of the words, ideas, diagrams, etc., of publicly available work without appropriately acknowledging the sources of these materials. This definition constitutes plagiarism whether it is intentional or unintentional and whether it is the work of another or your own, previously published work. Plagiarism is a very serious offense that the University of Washington's eDGH Program does not tolerate."

Enforcement

Corroborated reports of plagiarism, cheating, or other misconduct will result in no credit on that assignment and may result in suspension from the course and ban from participation in future courses.

Religious Accommodations

eDGH uses the UW's policy on religious accommodations for participants who need to make special arrangements in meeting course deadlines due to reasons of faith or conscience or for religious activities. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course by contacting edgh@uw.edu.

Copyright Statement

All content associated with this course is copyrighted. This includes the syllabus, assignments, reading lists, and lectures, as well as any material generated by your fellow students. Within the constraints of "fair use", you may copy these materials for your personal use in support of your education. For example, you may download materials to your computer for study, but you may not copy the materials and distribute or upload to a website. Such "fair use" by you does not include further distribution by any means of copying, performance or presentation beyond the circle of your close acquaintances, student colleagues in this class and your family. If you have any questions regarding any use violates the creator's copyright interests, please feel free to email edgh@uw.edu.